Assigning ‘functions’ to the land means to define the functional role that a specific piece of land will have, within the overall DAM Plan. Reflecting the three pillars of the methodology we can assign to the land: economic, environmental and social functions.

• Economic functions= identify land areas devoted to produce economic incomes.
• Environmental functions= identify area of the property aimed at increasing the ecosystem quality and hence the natural capital of the land.
• Social functions = identify an area of the property aimed at supporting the local population directly or indirectly

For a detailed list of possible economic, environmental and social functions, get pdf.

Selecting plant species

• Setting a Preliminary list. It would be important to take into account both the planting purpose (e.g. creating eco-services, creating new marketing opportunities) and the information gathered during the preliminary phase of the project, the background information collection.
• Preliminary market evaluation for species with direct economic function. Such plant species should be chosen on the basis of 2 criteria: i) their potential for marketing and ii) their suitability to local agroclimatic conditions
• Final list of species, with planting calendars along the year, all the necessary inputs for the field operations etc.

For the detailed steps proposed to identify the most suitable species, get pdf.

Selection of Adaptation Measures (AM’s). They represent the management operations or actions to be taken in the field in order to optimize plant survival and productivity, to protect ecosystem quality, to enhanced ecosystem services on the long term and hence reducing degradation and desertification risk. As a driving indication Adaptation Measures should always aim to the following:

• Soil protection
• Plant protection
• Water efficiency and waterbodies protection
• Biodiversity protection

• Fire risk protection

For a detailed list of Adaptation Measures which can be adopted in the field, get pdf.